Fallout 3 modding FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Fallout 3 modding. Will an editor be available? The official editor for Fallout 3, called the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit), has been released. It is available here: http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/downloads/geck.html What is the editor like? The editor is similar to the ones for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which used an earlier version of the same engine. What file formats are used by Fallout 3? All asset files are stored within "BSA" archives in Fallout's "/data" folder. All other game data is stored in "fallout3.esm" which can be edited with the Fallout 3 Construction Set. Graphics * 3D Models: NetImmerse/Gamebryo "NIF" files (version 20.2.0.7) * Textures: DirectDraw Surface "DDS" files (DXT1, DXT3, and DXT5 format) Animation * Skeletal Animation: NetImmerse/Gamebryo "KF" files (version 20.2.0.7) * Lip Sync: Bethesda(?) "LIP" files (created with the Fallout 3 Construction Set) Audio * Speech: Ogg Vorbis "OGG" files (Mono, 44.1 kHz) * In-world 3D Effects: Waveform Audio Format "WAV" files (Mono, 22 kHz, 16 bit, PCM format) * Ambient Effects: Waveform Audio Format "WAV" files (Stereo, 22 kHz, 16 bit, PCM format) * Music and PipBoy radio: MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 "MP3" files (Stereo/Mono, 44.1 kHz, 192 kbps) * In-world 3D radio: Waveform Audio Format "WAV" files (Mono, 22 kHz, 16 bit, PCM format) How do I extract data from the BSA files? How to unpack BSA file format Where can I obtain mods? * Fallout 3 Mods * No Mutants Allowed * PlanetFallout * Fallout3Nexus Where can I get modding help? * Bethesda's Official GECK Wiki * No Mutants Allowed * The Nexus Forums * Duck and Cover * Fallout 3 Zone Modding Guides, Q and As * Adding a NEW Weapon by Moraelin * Changing a weapon's ammo type answered by vash1985 * Editing a weapon's magazine capacity answered by OmniTree * List of top records in ESM and descriptions by w0t * Modelling Mini Tutorial by jaysus * Skinning/Rigging Mini Tutorial by jaysus * Collision Mini Tutorial by jaysus * Setting up a Merchant Mini Tutorial by jaysus What about Performance Tweaks? Oblivion and Fallout 3 share the same engine, so tweaking the fallout.ini and falloutprefs.ini files are very similar to Oblivion.ini Examples of things to Change: Open up Fallout.ini(in "My Documents/My Games/Fallout 3") and search the document for "thread" Any setting that has "=0" after it and the word "thread" in the name, change it to "=1". This should make better use of Dual and Quad-core systems. Also, increase iNumHavokThreads to 5 or so. Making these changes can disrupt the communication between the CPU and graphics card, causing the game and computer to lock. Particularly when exiting straight from the game. A work around, is to exit to the main menu, then exit the game. * NOTE -- It has been reported that the above tweaks may actually decrease performance (as noted in the this thread on the same subject in Oblivion). * TIP: If you experience your system to hang upon exiting the game try settting "bMultiThreadAudio=" to "0". Also Change: ifpsclamp=0 -> ifpsclamp=60 This should help with mouse lag and stuttering. Please note, this should be only used as a last resort. It is preferable to simply lower the texture sizes to increase performance. What this option does is lock the frame rate to 60 frames per second. In this game there are brief sequences where the frame rate jumps to much higher than 60 frames per second. In practical terms, setting this option to 60 will slow down the time it takes to raise the pipboy 3000, it makes the reload time agonizingly slow and disrupts the VATS system. Supposition, it is likely when making this game the programmers animated these sequences with many frames. However each event, such as reloading, has a set time for it to occur in irrespective of lagging and frame rate. The tweak that has a lock on frames overrides this set time. Remember to back up any .ini files before you start "tweaking", and to experiment with each change to see what works best with your system. References Category:Fallout 3 Category:Can I mod Fallout 3 on the Xbox 360?